In Another Life
by SoManyPuns
Summary: Twenty years ago, humanity had looked to the sky with Hope. We'd lifted our voices as one, crying out into the void: "We are here! We are alive! This is our world, our music, our cultures! Come and share them with us!" And they had come. From the depths of space, the mechs had come. But they hadn't come to share. They had come to take.


_Twenty years ago, humanity had looked to the sky with Hope. We'd lifted our voices as one, crying out into the void: "We are here! We are alive! This is our world, our music, our cultures! Come and share them with us!"_

 _And they had come. From the depths of space, the mechs had come. But they hadn't come to share. They had come to_ _take._

 _Some called them gods. Others, monsters. But they weren't either of those things. They were people, nothing more. They had no supernatural powers or the ability to bend the cosmos to their will. All they had was strength in their bodies and greed in what passed for their hearts. And as it turned out, that was all they needed to take our world._

 _First, they took out our communications. Then, they destroyed our military. After that, they moved onto cities. Then towns. In one month the mechs had driven Humanity to the brink of extinction._

Miko rode quietly through the forest, Cecil's hooves thumping lightly against the turf as they approached her destination. The stallion's nostrils flared as the wind shifted, filling his nose with the unwelcome scent of oil and mechanics he shook his head, snorting. Miko leaned down and patted his neck. "I know buddy, I don't like 'em either."

But, lucky for Cecil, this was where he stopped. She wouldn't dare bring him any closer to the mechs. Swiftly, the woman dismounted and led her faithful companion to a group of rocks not far from the road. She looped the reins over a low shrub, testing it to make sure that it would keep Cecil close, but unravel easily should she need to make a quick getaway. _Perfect._

With efficient movements, the trader opened the saddlebags and pulled out what she would need. First came her armor, drone scraps tied together with bits of rope into a crude chest piece and a sort of helmet. Enough to keep her from being noticed, but not so much that her movements would be restricted. The chest piece would keep the mechs from picking up on her heart and the helmet would conceal brain waves or whatever it was that gave humans away. If one of them scanned her, she would appear to be nothing more than a sand colored drone. Of course, closer inspection would give her away in a heartbeat, but it was better than nothing.

After the armor came her belt. A strip of leather with pouches holding all the tools she would need for this job. Once she had secured it around her waist and made sure she had everything she needed, Miko pulled out the ceramic jars, carefully wrapped in cloth to keep them from breaking. Each jar was large enough to hold a quart of Energon and sealed with a cork. If she filled all three of them this trip, she'd be able to trade the precious liquid for supplies to last through the upcoming winter. Add drone scraps and she could live like a king.

One last check and she was ready to go. Miko took a deep breath and patted Cecil's side. "Wish me luck, yeah?" Cecil swished his tail and lipped at the dry grass. Close enough. "Thanks bud." And then she was off. Miko set her pace at a brisk walk, it was only a mile to the compound and the spoils it contained and then she'd be set for the winter.

 _New blankets._ She told herself _New blankets and dried fruit all winter long._ Even with this incentive, a large part of her wanted to turn back. Getting Energon was beyond dangerous. It brought her terrifyingly close to the mechs, and if one so much as glanced at her, she'd be made. And truthfully, Miko wasn't sure what would happen if someone discovered her in their storeroom. Her pessimism led her to believe death would be the only outcome.

Miko slipped through the mech's perimeter and entered the familiar loose vent that led to her target. In no time at all she was in the store room, surrounded by house sized cubes of Energon. About twelve years into the occupation, someone had managed to decode the mech's language and the knowledge had spread to the entire human race. Now everyone knew how to read the alien script, but writing it was useless (mechs never looked at it, no matter where it was written) and speaking it was beyond their capabilities. They were effectively mute before their conquerors. Unable to put forth any protest.

 _Low-grade_ read one container and Miko passed it by. She was after a big score this time, Low-grade was good for some things, but High-grade was the real money-maker. Naturally, it was on the other side of the room from the ventilation shaft. _Risk vs. Reward._ Miko mused wryly, and sprinted across the room.

She had just passed the last row of Mid-Grade when the door swished open. Her heart in her throat, Miko lunged back to the safety of the cubes.

 _"_ _...And this is our main storeroom my Lords."_ A mech said, apparently leading what had to be a tour group of some kind. Miko peeked out from her shelter and had to throw her hands over her mouth to stifle a scream.

They were huge! Beyond huge! The first mech was normal sized, painted sunshine yellow with black internals, but the other two were something out of a nightmare. Both were well over thirty feet high. One was red and blue and looked mostly normal, but the other one... Miko took another peek and shuddered. He was a silver colored monster. Huge spikes jutted out of his armor and she when she caught a glimpse of his teeth, Miko realized that they were sharpened into deadly points. Why they hell did a mech need sharpened teeth?

" _Would my lords like a sample?_ " The tour guide mech asked, stepping towards one of the cubes of High-grade.

The red and blue one gave a regal nod and the tour guide produced a smaller container (though it was big enough to hold Energon that could have been traded for a lifetime supply of dried fruit) from thin air and dipped it in. He passed the Energon to Red and Blue and then looked over to the Walking Nightmare questioningly.

Walking Nightmare considered for a moment, then said: " _Just Mid-grade for me_."

Miko nearly fainted. They were coming closer to her, ginormous feet sending the ground into tremors nearly as violent as the one's the trader was experiencing herself. _Run!_ Half of her brain screamed. _No!_ The other half screeched. _They'll see you if you run, Hide!_ Caught between two conflicting instincts, Miko froze.

They were close now. So close. If the tour guide mech looked down he'd see her. If she reached out, she could touch the yellow armor on his foot. She was so focused on this, that Miko failed to notice Red and Blue glancing down at her.

" _What is that?_ " he rumbled.

The other two looked down and Miko felt her heart skip about fifteen beats. The world seemed to pause, trapping her in this terrible moment for the rest of eternity. Her mind went blank.

 _I'm going to die._ She realized distantly. They'd found her. She had been seen and now she was trapped. There was no way to escape this. A whimper rose from her throat. _I don't want to die. I really don't._

" _Oh!"_ Said the Tour Guide he almost sounded...excited? " _A human!"_ Faster than she could think, the Tour Guide knelt down and swiftly scooped her into his cupped hands. She was held in one palm while the other gently but firmly covered her, making escape impossible. Light came from the gaps between his fingers, just enough to see by. He didn't crush her, didn't incinerate her with his weapons. Only held her in surprisingly gentle hands as Miko held absolutely still. As though her life were weighed against her ability to remain absolutely motionless.

" _A human you say?"_ Red and Blue asked from beyond the cage of Tour Guide's fingers.

" _Yes, my lord. A native species. They used to be absolutely everywhere. They're pretty rare nowadays. Its been a while since I saw one."_

 _"_ _Was it wearing armor?"_ Walking Nightmare piped up, and if possible, Miko grew even more tense.

" _Oh, Yes, Lord Megatronus. Humans are a highly adaptable species. They frequently disguise themselves with bits of their environment. Its probably why its so rare to see them. They've taken to attaching bits of drone scraps to themselves. Sometimes mechs confuse them for drones!"_

" _How fascinating."_ Red and Blue commented. " _May I see it?"_

" _Of course, Lord Prime."_ Tour Guide said, and Miko felt his hands lifting up. " _You'll have to be very gentle. Humans are incredibly fragile."_

" _Organics often are."_ Lord Prime said. And Miko found herself deposited into his gigantic palms. He held her close to his chest, blocking her escape with his right hand while holding her with his left. She looked into his eyes, each pupil was bigger than her head, but they were kind.

Here, at the mercy of the largest mech she'd ever seen, Miko knew she would be safe. Which is why she had the courage to do the stupidest thing ever conceived by a human being.

She stood on his palm, balancing herself with a hand on his humongous palm and looked into one eye. "Help us."

He only tilted his head, looking at her curiously.

"Damn it! Please! Leave our planet alone! Its a big galaxy, just let us have this one corner of it!"

" _I think your pet is anxious to be on its way."_ Walking Nightmare commented. " _Perhaps you should put it outside."_

Prime seemed almost disappointing. "Y _ou're likely right, brother."_ he sighed. As much as a mech could sigh. And moved with great, earth shaking steps to the door and gently lowered his hands to the dirt.

" _Go on, little one."_ He urged her, pressing one finger to her back. Miko stumbled from his palm and turned back to look at him.

"Please." she whispered one last time, tears prickling at her eyes. "Just give us back our world."

Nothing.

She nearly fell to her knees.

This was humanity's big chance. A shot for them to make some sort of meaningful contact with mechs.

She fell to her knees, tears falling from her eyes.

 _"_ _Do you think there's something wrong with it?"_ Tour guide asked. " _usually they run right off."_

Her tears splashed into the dust, she watched them soak into the dry earth. She lifted a finger and traced through the new mud. _One last chance._ She thought dimly and moved her finger again.

 _H-E-L-P U-S_

She spelled out and looked up at the mechs crouched in the door.

 _"_ _Is that...writing?"_ Prime asked.

" _I think it is."_ Tour Guide replied.


End file.
